How It Works

Here is how the nomination process should work:

1. You nominate your student (either through the school portal or the Community Nomination form), filling out basic information. Please verify that all contact information is correct, and please ensure the student has a personal (non-school) email address listed! You will also list who is responsible for paying the registration fee.

2. The student is now in "Nominated" status!

3. The student receives an automated email at the address(es) listed on the nomination, prompting them to complete registration. This form contains much more information and should be filled out by the student and their parent/guardian.

4. Once the student submits the registration form, the system automatically generates and sends an invoice. This invoice is ONLY sent to the person listed as responsible for payment in the nomination form.

5. The student is now in "Registered / Awaiting Payment" status!

6. The person responsible for payment makes payment either by sending a check in the mail or with a credit card at the personalized link provided. If check is preferred, please ensure it is sent to the address on the invoice and a copy of the invoice is included in the envelope. 

7. Once payment is received, it will be applied to the registration record. The student is now in "Paid" status, and is fully registered for the seminar!

8. After the student has finished all these steps, they may not hear from our Team for a while! Please encourage them to connect with us on social media and stay tuned for updates. We try to stay in touch as the seminar draws closer. If anything changes with the student's availablity and ability to attend the seminar, we ask that you please contact our Team as soon as possible. This allows us to open the spot up to another student. 

9. A month or so before, the student and parent(s)/guardian(s) should expect to receive another email with a "Pre-Seminar Materials" form. This form is HIGHLY detailed, and must be submitted on time to ensure our dining and housing partners can fully accomodate all of the student's needs. The student must complete this with a parent/guardian.  

If it seems like the process is stuck, please reach out to our Recruitment Team for assistance! If the school the student attends has already met the maximum student limit, our Team will be in touch about the seminar waitlist and next steps.

Waitlist

Because we have a limited number of dorm rooms, facility spaces, and staff volunteers, Seminar has a set maximum capacity! However, we assess our capacity often to make space for as many students to attend HOBY as possible.

The waitlist is developed throughout the registration process as schools or community nominators request that students be added. We evaluate the waitlist in the spring before registration closes (typically in April or early May). If space is available, it will be offered to students in descending order of the waitlist. 

The order of the waitlist is primarily based on the time the student joined the waitlist. However, the goal remains to ensure fairness and equality for all schools and maintain the balance of schools represented at HOBY. If multiple students from one school are sent to the waitlist, we will request a priority list from the school. The first priority student will join the waitlist, and the following students will fall to the bottom.  

Financial Assistance

Our goal is for students to attend HOBY, no matter their financial circumstances. We understand that the cost of attendance may be a barrier for some students, especially if the student and parent/guardian are responsible for payment. 

To assist, HOBY Oklahoma has not increased our student registration cost in three years. We do our very best to fight rising costs by raising funds in other ways.  

HOBY Oklahoma does not offer scholarships, but if our Fundraising Team has availability, we may be able to assist with finding a donor. Some financial aid, in the form of a partial scholarship, may be available from HOBY HQ. To learn more, please reach out to the Recruitment Team with details about the student and the specific amount needed. 

Requests are handled in the order they are received, with one student per school. If multiple students from the school need assistance, please provide the order in which the Recruitment Team should direct efforts. Each student after the first in the order will fall to the bottom of the list so we can equally assist all schools that request assistance. 

Providing suggestions for potential donors in your local area is greatly helpful and improves our chances of finding a donor for your student! We strongly recommend that the student try reaching out to donors first, as a familiar face is often more successful. We can provide resources for the student if requested. 

Payments

Registration payments are handled by HOBY HQ and are outside of HOBY Oklahoma's control. Please ensure you follow the steps provided to you from the automated emails. If payment is made via check, please enclose a copy of the invoice with the check and ensure the mailing address matches the address on the invoice. For any questions about payment, please contact HOBY HQ at the number listed on the invoice. 

Registration payments are nonrefundable, but if time allows, HOBY Oklahoma can offer the paid spot to another student from the school. If a change is requested too close to the seminar and critical deadlines have passed, we cannot guarantee that we can accommodate a different student, but we will try our best!